Retail development moves ahead with entrance plans

Shopping center site will restrict truck traffic on Flintridge Drive

Published 5:30 am, Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Plans for an entrance along Flintridge Drive for the new Woodlands Crossing Shopping Center are set, but it will include many safety features to address concerns from local residents.

Residents near the 24-acre center on the southeast corner of Woodlands Parkway and Kuykendahl Road have objected to an entrance point on Flintridge Drive, saying it would cause accidents, increase truck traffic, put children in jeopardy at a school bus stop and impede pedestrians on the pathways. The developer, Realm Realty, said the driveway was needed to gain access to the rear of the elongated property.

"We have literally held the center to a higher and stricter set of standards than any other," said David Stern, president of Realm Realty, a Houston firm developing the site. "We have more forest preserve and more stringent light standards. We are mindful that this is a neighborhood center."

Traffic plans

To address the safety issues, the entrance on Flintridge Drive will allow only right turns into and out of the shopping center. This will prevent cross traffic at the Stellar Point neighborhood that was of great concern to residents. The entrance on Flintridge Drive also will have a lane to separate turn traffic from the regular traffic flow along Flintridge.

"They seem to want to be a good community partner," said Dianna Nussbaum, a Stellar Point resident who helped negotiate the deal with Realm Realty. "Together we tried to make the best of a bad situation."

The entrance is located over the crest of a hill, which makes it difficult for approaching traffic to see. Many motorists speed through the area, and residents were concerned that it was an accident waiting to happen.

Realm Realty also has agreed to build a sidewalk on the south side of Flintridge Drive to Kuykendahl Road, providing a safe alternative to joggers, bicyclists and walkers who frequent the pathways system. The pathway in the area crosses the entrance driveway.

The school bus stop, previously located across from the entrance point, was moved inside the Stellar Point neighborhood, alleviating student safety issues for residents.

Finally, the developer would install a "headache bar," an overhead device that prevents trucks of certain heights from using the entrance. This device should cut down on truck traffic that might use Flintridge Drive.

Also, most of the tenants at the center are not the type that would use frequent, large trucks for deliveries, Stern said.

Retail center

Woodlands Crossing is the third major shopping center in the Woodlands Parkway and Kuykendahl Road area, which includes the
Indian Springs Village Center
and the
Sterling Ridge Shopping Center
. Walgreens was the first store to open in the center and leases have been signed with 24 Hour Fitness,
Comerica Bank
and Starbucks at the center. 24 Hour Fitness is one of the buildings that will be located on the Flintridge Drive side of the project.

Esther Greiner, a resident of Stellar Point, said although the school bus safety issue has been resolved, she still does not want to see an access point on Flintridge. She believes there are plenty of entrances that can be placed on Woodlands Parkway and Kuykendahl Road. She is also concerned about the removal of forest buffer.

"You can see directly across Flintridge to Woodlands Parkway," Greiner said.